


Underneath it All

by BriMarie



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Minor Ashlyn and Kourtney, Nini Salazar roberts - Freeform, Ricky Bowen Loves Nini Salazar-Roberts, Sexual Tension, They’re doing la la land, rickini, ricky bowen - Freeform, rini - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24641320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriMarie/pseuds/BriMarie
Summary: Since their freshman year, Ricky and Nini have always been at each other’s throats. So you can imagine their dismay when they were told they had to do a scene together as their final project in theater.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 4
Kudos: 84





	Underneath it All

**Author's Note:**

> Title inspired by the song Underneath it All by No Doubt.

Nini woke up to the menacing sound of her alarm clock playing an old Taylor Swift song on repeat and her roommate’s very loud live solo performance she was throwing in their living room for an imaginary audience.

She smacks the alarm clock with more intensity than she means to, and slowly rolls out of bed. She dragged her feet to the living room to try to stop her roommate from singing so loud.

She grabbed the closest pillow from the couch and threw it straight at Kourtney’s head.

“Ow what the hell Neens?” She throws the pillow back at Nini, but she dodged it before it could hit her.

“Kourt it’s literally like 8 am on a Monday, and I have class in two hours. Why’re you practicing for the opera now?”

“There’s no such thing as too much practice. We all know that the theater final will be a duet and performing a scene. I gotta make sure everything is in check!”

Nini rolls her eyes, walks to the counter, and pours herself a cup of coffee. “As much as I appreciate you striving to be better, I’d appreciate it if it weren’t during a time that I want peace and quiet.”

“Well to be fair, you usually get up at this time, so if anything you should be thanking me!”

Nini scoffs in disbelief. “Thank you?!”

“You’re welcome.” Kourtney winks and blows a kiss at her. Nini considered continuing her complaints about Kourtney’s untimely vocal warm ups, but decides to drop it for now.

“Who do you think you’ll end up duetting with? Usually Ms. Jenn tries to pair people who’s voices compliment each other.” 

Nini shrugs as she takes a sip from her mug. “Honestly I have no idea. Maybe Ashlyn since we sang a song together before, and Ms. Jenn seemed pretty impressed.”

“What if it were Ricky? Boy that would be something to watch.” 

Nini visibly cringes and spits out a bit of her coffee. Just the thought of being in the same room as him made her want to bump her head against a wall. Literally anyone in her theater class would be better than him.

They’ve been enemies ever since he walked through the theater doors back in freshman year. He barged into the theater during her audition for the role of Penny from Hairspray causing all attention to go to him and throwing her off her game in the process. 

His little stunt was the reason she didn’t get the role since she messed up her lines and missed a few beats. She ended up getting the role of one of the background dancers that year while he somehow managed to get Corny Collins. 

He also was a fan of being late to rehearsals, and over the years, he always found a way to get under her skin. So yeah she wasn’t exactly a big fan of his.

“Don’t even joke about that! I don’t know what I’d do if I had to look at him longer than I already have to. I mean isn’t it torture enough that I have to sit in front of him in my first class and tolerate his nonsense in theater? I’m surprised I haven’t decked him yet!”

“Woah, I’m sensing a lot of passion for him from you.”

“Yeah, passionate disdain.”

“Whatever you say Neens.”

When it reaches 9:30, they both do their weekly walk to their classes. Kourtney always walks Nini to her first class. They usually talk by the door since Kourtney’s class was right across from Nini’s, and her class started 10 minutes later than hers.

“Well I hope Ricky doesn’t screw with you like he usually does today.” 

The sound of a skateboard rolling on tile is approaching them, and Nini already knows who it is without looking.

He rolls right in between the pair and smirks down at Nini. “Hey Nini, I heard we’re getting our duet partners today. I can’t wait to outdo you and whoever’s sorry ass gets you as a partner.”

“And I can’t wait to wipe that smug look off your face when I kick your ass with whatever extremely lucky person I get to perform with.” 

“Awe that’s so cute that you think that you could possibly top me. It’s almost laughable.” He says in a demeaning tone.

It’s only a few minutes before 10 am, and he’s already managed to ruin her day. “I can top you!”

“Oo that was a little sexual. Sorry babe, you’re not my type.”

“Don’t you dare call me babe, and you know damn well what I meant.” She gave him the most intense scowl she could form, and he mirrored her. They had practically been nose to nose, and Kourtney was starting to feel uncomfortable from the amount of tension between them.

Kourtney claps her hands loudly in between them, and they snap back into reality. “Okay save all the drama for the stage you two!” Ricky rolls his eyes and picks up his board.

“Yeah whatever.” He walks past her bumping her arm in the process into their first class. 

“Okay so maybe I spoke too soon when I said he might not screw with you today.” Kourtney gives her a sympathetic look and pats her shoulder.

“Yeah I should’ve known he’d ruin my day like he always does.” 

“You know Nini, I’m starting to think that he might have a little crush on you.”

Nini wrinkles her nose in disgust at the thought of him possibly liking her like that. “Ew gross! What would make you say that?!”

“Well a lot of guys tend to tease girls they like because they don’t know how to act on their feelings. Maybe Ricky’s way of showing it is riling you up.”

Nini ponders for a second before dismissing her theory. “Yeah there’s no way in hell. He just is a nuisance who likes to mess with people.”

“Neens, I’ve only seen him ever mess with you. He doesn’t even come for me.”

“Well whatever his deal is with me doesn’t change how I feel about him. I better get to class; I’ll see you in theater.” 

They say their goodbyes, and Nini walks to her seat. The moment she sits down, she gets hit on the head by a balled up piece of paper. She turned around in her seat to see a snickering Ricky.

“You’re a literal child; you know that?”

“Ah come on Nina, live a little.”

She throws the piece of paper at him before she faces the board, and he catches it in his hand. She regrets ever choosing to sit in this spot in the first place.

(Unbeknownst to her, he chose to sit behind her after he saw her sit there just so he could bug her)

***

All theater kids were all jittery trying to guess what their assignment will be and with who. Ms. Jenn liked to do things fresh every year, so it was extremely hard to try to guess her next move. For example, last year for their final, Ms. Jenn had them all do famous monologues from classics from the 50s whilst dancing to whatever jazz song she could find. 

She claimed that real actors can multi-task and improvise under pressure, which no one could really disagree with. It was definitely one of the weirdest finals Nini’s ever taken ~~and one of the most embarrassing.~~

Ms. Jenn finally appeared from behind the stage and began clapping to get their attention. 

“Quiet down everyone! I know you guys are either really anxious or really excited to see what your duet and scene will be and with who.” 

She pauses to take out a clipboard with what Nini assumes is the list of partners and projects. She holds up the sheet and shows the class.

“Now this list contains-“

The abrupt and loud sound of the theater doors opening cut her off and made the other students look back to see who on earth interrupted the moment they’ve been waiting for.

Ricky runs in with his skateboard in hand as he always does. Nini rolls her eyes at the sight of him and can already feel her mood begin to sour. 

“Ricky, so nice of you to finally join us 10 minutes into class! Can’t wait to hear what excuse you have for me this time.” Ms. Jenn gives him her signature pained fake smile she makes when she’s agitated that honestly creeped most people out.

He quickly takes a seat in his usual spot and gives her an apologetic smile. “I uh overslept?”

Some of the students chuckle under their breaths while others rolled their eyes. Ms. Jenn pinched the space between her eyes.

“Wow you couldn’t even come up with a good excuse this time. You’re lucky you’re talented Mr. Bowen because otherwise I’d kick you out by now.”

Ricky scoots down in his chair in shame. “Sorry...”

“It doesn’t matter. Anyways, I was going to say that the list in my hand states who you will be partnering with and what scene and duet you’ll be performing. You’ll have two months to complete this assignment. I highly advise you guys practice the scene first because it’s usually harder to remember lines than lyrics. They’re not too long anyways. Also, I will give extra credit to anyone who adds choreo, but it’s not needed! Alright I’m gonna post it up here. Make sure not to trample over each other!”

She speed walks to tape the list to the wall before the crowd and runs back to the stage.

The kids all scurry to the list seeing if they got someone they would get along with. Kourtney reaches it before Nini does. When she sees her name, she beams.

“Yes! I’m gonna do You’re Timeless to Me from Hairspray with Ashlyn! Oh my god, this is gonna be so much fun.” Nini gives her a hug to congratulate her. 

“Oo I’m hella jealous! That’s one of my fav scenes in the musical, and Ashlyn is such a sweetheart and a great partner.” 

“So I’ve heard! I’m gonna go meet up with her so we can start planning.” Kourtney skips over to Ashlyn, and Nini can’t help but smile when she overheard them squealing of excitement.

She works her way to the front and looks for her name on the list. When she finally sees her name, her eyes trail over to her partner. The moment she read who her partner was, she forgets how to function.

No, this couldn’t be. This was a literal nightmare. 

Ricky sneaks up behind her and smirks when he sees her stunned face. “Woah Sal-Robs you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Who’s the poor sucker that got stuck with you?”

Ricky looks at her name and stiffens when he reads who she was paired with.

_Nini Salazar-Roberts & Ricky Bowen- A Lovely Night from La La Land _

Well shit.

“Oh, I’m the sucker.”

Nini turns around and struts over to Ms. Jenn. 

“Ms. Jenn I have a problem with my partner choice.”

Ms. Jenn furrows her brows and looks at her back up list. “Ah yes, you were paired with Ricky I see. That should be fun.”

“No, actually I feel like it’d be the exact opposite of fun, and I’m pretty sure he’d agree. You see, we don’t exactly see eye to eye.”

Ms. Jenn nodded like she understood, but her bulging eyes said otherwise. “Well here’s the thing about showbiz. Sometimes you’re going to have to work with people you can’t stand. I mean look at Bette Davis and Joan Crawford or Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. They both put their differences aside and ended up making some of the most iconic films of all time.”

Nini sighed, and she felt signs of a headache coming soon. “Okay well they were also paid actors and signed contracts to be fair.” Nini automatically regrets her words because Ms. Jenn looked like she was ready to pop.

“You know what? I’ll just do what I can.” 

Ms. Jenn perks up, “That’s the spirit!” 

Ms. Jenn makes her way to center stage and claps to get the other student’s attention. 

“Alright kids, by now you should know who your partners are and what you’ll be performing. Today’s assignment is to start working on your scenes with your partner. Alright begin!”

All of the students found their partners and found a place to begin rehearsing. Nini meets eyes with Ricky who was near the stairs of the stage. He has an unreadable expression that seems like a mixture of annoyance and mild concern.

He climbs up the stairs and stands in front of her. “So I guess we’re stuck together for the next two months.”

She cringes because she hadn’t let the fact that she’d have to spend a lot of time with him sink in yet due to still being shocked he was her partner.

“Don’t remind me.” She begins to walk backstage and motions for him to follow.

She leads them to one of the empty dressing rooms. She already knew they’d end up having at least one loud petty fight. She didn’t want to distract others with their antics, so she figured a room far from others is the best option. The moment the door closes, she’s pointing a scolding finger at him. 

“Okay listen here, we both know that we despise each other. We also know that if we don’t tolerate each other enough to get through this, we’ll fail and I highly doubt either of us want to repeat this class going into senior year.”

“Are you proposing that we make a temporary treaty or something? Because I’m down for getting an A, but it’s gonna be hella hard not picking on you.”

“I didn’t say we had to be friendly to each other because not even I’m that naive to believe that we will ever be fully civil with each other. I’m just saying that when we are in the theater, it’s all work and no play.”

He pokes his lip out. “Damn are we gonna have any fun? We can have some time to goof off.”

She shakes her head. “Absolutely not! This is our final for fucks sake. And two months isn’t that long. We need to get our shit together, and by we I mean you.”

He pretends to be offended. “Me?!”

“Yes you! You need to stop being so damn late for class. We need to use as much time as possible because we both know we don’t wanna spend more time with each other than necessary.”

He says something under his breath that she couldn’t make out. She chooses to ignore it.

“Alright princess since you’ve clearly got it all figured out, how about you tell me what you want to do first.”

“Well first, don’t call me princess.”

“Fine, Neens it is.”

“My normal name is fine.”

“Yeah we both know I’m gonna keep calling you different pet names. How about we just move on?”

She sighs in defeat. “Ugh fine, I guess we can read over the scene. It’s not too long.”

They read over their lines without any fuss to her surprise. She knows not to get too excited because they’re bound to get in an argument eventually.

“Welp, I’m burned out. How about we pick up on this next class period?” 

She looks at him dumbfounded. “What do you mean? We literally only read through the script once! There’s no way you nailed the lines that fast!”

“Ugh don’t be a buzzkill Sal-Robs. We have plenty of time to nail this. Plus, I gotta meet Big Red at the skate park.”

He grabs the handle on the door, but she stops him by resting her hand firmly on top of his. For a second, he was taken aback by her touch since he can’t recall a time that they have ever had any form of physical contact.

“You’re not quitting on me like this Bowen.”

“You can’t stop me from leaving.”

“Watch me.”

She stands directly in front of the handle, and their bodies were so close that she could smell the cologne on his neck. She makes the most intimidating look she can muster, but it didn’t seem like it was efficient since he smiled evilly.

“Nini if you don’t move, I’ll move you myself.”

“I’d like to see you try!”

He shrugs. “Well you asked for it.”

Suddenly his arms are wrapped around her waist and their chests are against each other. She feels her feet lift from the ground. She began squirming and hitting him trying to get him to release her, but it was pointless considering how much bigger he was.

“Put me down you dick!” 

He rested her on the other side of the room.

“See you tomorrow Neens.”

He quickly escapes through the door before she can stop him again. She huffs and folds her arms. This was gonna be a long few weeks.

***

When the day ended, Kourtney and Nini walked back to their apartment. When they entered, Nini went straight for the red wine and poured herself a glass. She only drank wine when she was stressed.

“So I’m guessing working with Ricky didn’t go that well?” 

Nini laughs humorlessly as she takes a sip of her cheap wine. “You can say that again.”

“Did you try telling Ms. Jenn about it?” 

“Yep, but she didn’t want to change partners. I don’t know why she would want to pair me with him of all people. We’ve literally never worked on anything together in the past three years of having theater together.”

Kourtney shrugs. “Maybe she saw something in you guys that you guys don’t see yet.”

“Ha! Like there’s anything to see. The only thing we share is our equal ill feelings for each other.”

“Well I’m pretty sure it’ll work out in the end. You both have nice singing voices and acting skills.”

Nini couldn’t deny that even though she really wanted to. She has heard him sing a few times over the years and had seen his acting skills enough to know that he was talented, but she would never tell him that.

“Enough about him, tell me how you and Ashlyn are doing.”

Kourtney’s face lights up at the mention of Ashlyn’s name. “She’s amazing! She’s gonna play Edna, and I’m gonna be Wilbur. We’re so excited to do the song together. Also, we decided to add the choreo because honestly that song wouldn’t be the same without it.”

Nini smirks at her best friend. “Wow if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you had a crush on her.” 

Kourtney becomes bashful and blushes. “Oh my god Neens, it’s not like that!”

“Sure Kourt.”

Kourtney playfully throws a plastic spoon at her, which results in a play fight with them throwing random harmless objects at each other.

***

The next class was a total bust for Ricky and Nini.

They had argued almost the entire time and could barely go a full line without one of them saying a snarky comment.

They didn’t even realize that their voices elevated to a point where people in the general vicinity could hear them fighting despite being behind closed doors.

Ms. Jenn had knocked on the door and entered to see what the fuss was all about.

“Hey you two, I was just checking in to see how you guys were doing.”

The pair looks over at her surprised to see her. They were so caught up in their feud that they didn’t even hear or see her until she spoke.

“Uh we’re working through it.” Ricky says.

Ms. Jenn raises a brow. “Oh really?”

The two of them nod with fake smiles. “Yep we’re making it work.” Nini lies.

Ms. Jenn sighs. “So you guys define loud fighting matches working it out? I could hear you guys through the vents.”

The pair looks to the floor in shame. “We can explain.” Nini says, but Ms. Jenn holds up her hand to stop her from continuing.

“No need. Look, you guys have to get along because I’m not switching partners. I’m going to watch you guys read over your lines and try to see what exactly has you guys so fired up.”

She takes a seat in one of the chairs and patiently waits for them to start. 

The pair look over at each other awkwardly before they begin to read.

Nini clears her throat. Nini pretends to almost trip in her heels. “Shit...”

“Those look comfortable.” He says with no emotion.

“They are...n't. Thank you for saving the day back there.”

Ricky puts down his script and gives her a condescending look. “Why’d you say aren’t like that? God it sounds so weird! Just say it like a normal person would!”

Nini looks up at him eyes full of rage. “That’s literally how it’s written in the actual script Ricky! Or are you incapable of reading? At least that would explain your personality!”

“You’re fucking impossible!” He shoves his script into his bag and grabs his skateboard.

“And where the hell do you think you’re going? We have work to do!” Nini yells.

“We haven’t gotten anything done, and it doesn’t seem like we will anytime soon. I’m leaving for the day.” He turns on his heel and walks out of the room leaving a heated Nini and a stunned Ms. Jenn.

Nini aggressively packs her things too and began heading for the door. Before she left, she turned over to Ms. Jenn. 

“I’m sorry we disappointed you.” She doesn’t wait for her response and leaves the room.

Ms. Jenn couldn’t believe how quickly they both were able to get mad at each other. She knew she had a lot of work to do with these two, so she begins to brainstorm ways to get them to get on the same page.

Despite their hateful words, she knew that they had it in them to make something magical.

***

They both had been on edge since that little mishap a few days ago. He seemed to have bugged her more than usual, and she had been biting back more viciously not missing an opportunity to insult him.

Sometimes the surrounding classmates in their first class would try to avoid sitting near them when they were having one of their many feuds. 

Today had been one of their bad days. The moment Ricky sat down behind her, he managed to continuously throw a random object from his bag at her. She tried to ignore him as much as possible knowing that his goal was to get a rise out of her, but there’s so little you can tolerate that long.

She slams the table causing many heads to turn to her, but she didn’t care. She was too wrapped up in her growing rage for the curly headed nuisance behind her to even notice anyone else.

She jumps out of her seat and stomps over to him. She sees the pure shock and fear in his eyes when she hovers over him. He clearly wasn’t expecting her to react.

She slams her hands on the table in front of him causing him to jump. She leans in close to his face and aligns their eyes. 

“I’ve just about fucking had it with you.” She says only loud enough for him to hear.

He doesn’t say anything too astonished to even speak.

“You’ve been torturing me for years for some damn reason, and I’m so sick of it! What the hell did I do to you that made you hate me so much? God I wish you’d just leave me the hell alone!”

She’s breathing hard when she finishes. She doesn’t lose her eye contact with him and neither does he. They stayed in this intense stare down for 15 seconds in silence. Others were watching intently anticipating their next moves. Right when Ricky was about to speak, he’s interrupted by their professor.

“That’s enough you two! I’m in the middle of a lecture. This is no place for drama. Both of you need to leave immediately.”

Nini huffs and packs all of her things. Before she leaves, she looks back at Ricky who still hasn’t moved a muscle. 

“Now look what you’ve done. Typical.” She doesn’t look back at him as she exits the classroom.

~

Ricky dreads going to theater after today’s events. He had admitted he probably had gone too far today with his constant harassment, but knowing Nini she wouldn’t forgive him even if he apologized.

(He knows that from experience when he tried to apologize for ruining her audition in freshman year)

Nini is already there before him as usual. She seems like she’s still angry, which didn’t surprise him. He was the reason they both missed the last 50 minutes of their Biology lecture. Before he can even sit down, Ms. Jenn appears on the stage. 

“Good afternoon! I’m just gonna jump right into it since time is very precious today. Everyone split off to your groups and start rehearsing your lines. I highly advise you begin your songs as well if you believe you’re ready. Alright break!”

The students follow their orders and dispersed to different corners of the theater. “Oh and Ricky and Nini I need to talk to you guys in private. Please follow me backstage.” Ms. Jenn says before quickly making her way to the back.

People began to look at the pair wondering why she needed to pull them aside, but Ricky had an idea what this was about. Ricky trailed behind Nini from a reasonable distance (just in case she decided to swing at him or something) as they walk into one of the desolate rooms.

They both recognize the room as the room that was always off limits for whatever reason that may be. The place has dimmed lighting and looked like someone’s bedroom the way it was designed. 

“So I think you guys already kind of know why I brought you back here.” She waves her finger to gesture to the well decorated room. 

“After your little episode the other day, I realized that you guys have a bonding problem due to some deep rooted dislike you have for each other. So instead of rehearsing like everyone else, you guys will be soul bonding to try to resolve whatever issues you guys have for the sake of your grade in my secret hideout. Questions?”

Both of the young adults’ jaws had practically fell to the floor. Did she seriously think this was going to work? Has she forgotten who she was talking to? This was bound to blow up in all of their faces. 

Nini holds up her hand. “Um yeah what exactly will we be doing to soul bond?” 

“Good question. When I leave this room, you’ll be doing a very intimate look into each other’s souls through your eyes since the eyes are the windows to the soul. I’ve seen this work numerous times in the past between people who are arguing. You will have to look into each other’s eyes for a full 2 minutes.”

Nini wanted nothing more than for someone to stab her in the chest. Soul bonding with Ricky is literally one of the last things on earth she’d rather be doing right now, especially after biology class earlier.

“And then afterwards, you will hug each other for a full minute. That should help relief some tension since hugs make people feel happy and comfortable.”

Ricky wanted to disappear into thin air ~~like his mom did to him and his dad in 8th grade.~~ He didn’t think this day could get any worse, but he was dead wrong. How could he trust Nini not to beat his ass the moment Ms. Jenn steps out that door? 

“And lastly, you will need to say three things you like and dislike about each other. It can be a personality characteristic or even a physical one.”

Ricky takes a look at Nini for the first time since they entered and notices that she seems just as stressed about this as him.

“I know you guys can do this! Keep in mind that I will be able to tell if you actually did the activities or not. I can always see right threw actors when they lie. Tootles!”

She walks over to the door but turns around when she thinks of something.

“You wanna know why I chose the both of you to be partners?” 

The pair nods in sync. 

“Because I know what both of your strengths and weaknesses are. Your voices would suit each other’s well on stage and regardless of what you think, you guys have a passion for each other whether you see it or not.”

And on that note, she left the room leaving the two alone. The atmosphere becomes awkward pretty quick considering the task at hand. Nini wanted to get this over with, so she decided to be the one to initiate.

“I say we start with the staring into each other’s eyes activity since it’ll probably take the longest.” She proposes. He just nods not wanting to accidentally set her off like he did earlier.

They awkwardly stand in front of each other while Nini starts the timer for two minutes on her phone.

It felt weird looking into each other’s eyes when there wasn’t an argument involved. That’s the only time she even bothered to look him in the eye, so this was completely foreign to her.

As she gazed into his eyes, she began to notice a few things she never bothered to notice before. Like how his eyes weren’t the same color of his dark brown locks. They had two different shades of brown in it; one being an amber like color while the other was more milk chocolate. She actually found it pretty fascinating.

After the first 30 seconds of analyzing his eye color, she actually attempted to look into his soul. She picked up quickly that he had been doing the same. She was trying to pick up on whatever emotion he was feeling at the moment. 

His eyes resembled the same expression he had when he was deep in thought (she had noticed a few times over the years that he makes a certain face when he’s concentrating). She wondered what was going on in that head of his to make him think this hard.

His eyes make a quick glance at her lips that doesn’t go unnoticed by her. She also finds her eyes settling on his lips for a quick second, and her mind wonders what they might feel like against hers-

Snap out of it Nini! This is Ricky we’re talking about here! Also that’s not the intention of the exercise.

When she meets his gaze this time, his eyes have a twinkle in them that wasn’t there before. He was looking at her with such admiration and adoration that she had never seen him show before.

She finally relaxes into his gaze and he seems to be in peace too. This was the most relaxed she had been around him her entire life.

The timer finally goes off disrupting their attention. They take a few steps back from each other and both begin to blush. Neither of them expected that to be such a vulnerable exercise. The tension between them was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

“Um maybe we can do the three things activity next or whatever.” He scratches the back of his neck nervously.

She gives him an awkward grin. “Yeah that’s fine. Uh you can go first.”

“Okay uh let me think for a second.” He looks her up and down as if he’s scanning her or something. 

“One thing I don’t like about you is that you don’t know when to chill.”

She scoffs. “What?! I totally know how to chill!”

He rolls his eyes. “Oh really? The most calm I’ve seen you is when we were just staring into each other’s eyes.”

She faintly blushes. “It’s my turn!” She says abruptly trying to change the subject from that intense activity.

“One thing I don’t like about you is that you’re always late to like literally everything.”

He doesn’t try to even think of a comeback to that because everyone knows that’s just a fact. “Yeah I can’t even deny that statement.”

He tried to think of another thing he disliked about her. “Oh a second thing I don’t like about you is that you don’t speak up for yourself.” 

“That’s not true. I speak up to you all the time!”

“Yeah to me, but anytime someone else pushes you over, I noticed that you just let them. It’s part of the reason you got stuck as background characters or understudies a lot in freshman year.”

For once, she agreed with him. She didn’t know if siding with him was a sign of character development or pure insanity.

“I guess I could work on that. That’s not the first time I’ve heard that.” She pauses to think of another dislike. “Oh another thing I dislike about you is that you don’t like to listen a lot of the times. It’s hella annoying.”

“In my defense, I only listen when it appeals to me. Otherwise my mind just goes to daydream mode.” 

She smirks, “Sounds more like ADD.”

He chuckles and Nini tries to think of a time when she’s ever heard him laugh non-sarcastically and realized that she has never heard him genuinely laugh before.

“Well the only other thing I don’t like about you is that you don’t see how talented you are.” He blushes and begins looking at his feet bashfully the moment he says it.

She feels her cheeks heat up too as she stares at him in disbelief. “Wait you think I’m talented?” She always assumed he belittled her skills since he had been taunting her for three years straight.

His shyness fades and is replaced with disbelief when his eyes meet hers again.

“Are you serious? Nini you’re like one-in-a-million talented. How else do you think you got to stay in this class for so long? Only the truly skilled make it to this class.”

She smiles, and she thinks it’s the first time he’s ever been the reason for it. “Awe thanks, you’re crazy talented too.” There’s a pause between them, but it’s not awkward for once.

“Well the last thing I don’t like about you is that you don’t use your full potential.”

He furrows his brows in bewilderment. “What do you mean?”

“Over the years, I’ve noticed that you have the abilities to make a better grade on whatever project you’re working on or maybe you could’ve performed with more passion, but you didn’t despite knowing you could strive to be better. I never got why you didn’t.”

He takes a minute to let her words sink in. He’s been told these same words by teachers and even his own parents a few times over the years but never a classmate.

“I’m not really sure why I don’t either.” 

“Well you should try to figure it out because I know you have it in you.” 

They smile at each other, and he feels his heart warm up at the sight of her. 

“For the things I like about you, I like that you call me out on my shit. No one really bothers to correct me except for you.” 

She laughs and nods in agreement. “Yeah that’s true. I definitely won’t hesitate. Uh for the things I like about you, I like that you pretty much can get along with anyone.”

“Everyone except you apparently.” He jokes.

“Well we’re getting along pretty well right now.”

“Yeah for once.” He tries to come up with another thing he likes about her. “Ah one thing I’ve always liked about you is that you have a really soothing singing voice.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s just a very soft and relaxing voice. It always makes me feel solace regardless of how my day was.”

“Wow um thanks that’s very sweet of you to say.”

“No problem.”

“I think your eyes are your most beautiful feature.” She accidentally blurts out.

He was shocked for the millionth time that day by her. She was truly full of surprises today. “Wow I wasn’t ready for that one, but thanks. I don’t think I’ve ever been complimented on them before.”

Now it was her turn to be surprised. “Seriously? I would’ve thought countless people would’ve said something by now.”

He shrugs. “People just don’t appreciate brown eyes I guess.”

“Uh let’s see...Oh another thing I like about you is that you always stick up for your friends. I’ve seen you do it a few times.” He says.

“Thanks, I pride myself on that one. I just can’t stand when people are disrespectful to the people I care about.” 

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“The last thing I like about you is that you can pretty much nail anything on the first try. Like you killed the choreo for Moulin Rouge last year after seeing it performed once.”

He smiles at that memory. “Oh yeah I forgot about that. I got a lot of praise that night.”

“It was well deserved. I can see why you tend to get leads.”

He hums as he attempts to think of the last thing. When he thinks of his answer, he can’t help but smile. “The final thing I like about you is your radiant smile.”

“You like my smile?” She fiddles with her fingers nervously.

“Who wouldn’t? When I see it, I can tell it’s full of life.”

She feels her heart beat like a drum in her chest. Earlier her heart was beating fast because he had pushed her over the edge and now it was because he was complimenting her on things she’s rarely been told.

“Should we start the last activity?” She asks. He nods and they both walk up to each other. Neither knows how exactly to approach the other since they have maybe only touched each other a total of three times.

After a while, Ricky holds out his arms for her. She puts on the timer for one minute and shoves it in her back pocket. She wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her head on his heart. He wrapped his arms around her frame and placed his head on top of hers.

They didn’t speak one word. All Nini could hear was the gentle sound of his heart beating, and she somehow found it very therapeutic. She found herself moulding herself into his chest wanting to hear more of the song his heart was singing. 

He pulls her a little closer to him and begins to slowly rub his hand up and down her back. He closes his eyes fully relaxing into her. He finds himself smiling into her hair as she nuzzled her head into his chest. He doesn’t want this moment to end.

The timer went off, but neither of them let go immediately. Nini reaches for her pocket to stop the noise, but quickly placed her arms back around him. They rock back and forth as they just enjoy the others touch. 

“Nini?”

She doesn’t move from her position not ready to let go quite yet. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For pushing you too far earlier. You had every right to be upset with me.”

She had almost completely forgotten about her outburst a few hours ago. 

“It’s fine. I’m not angry anymore.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

He’s glad she forgave him, but was still surprised she accepted his apology since she had never done that before.

They finally let go a full minute later, and he couldn’t stop his fingers from lingering from her waist.

“Well this has been...interesting.”

“Yeah it has.”

“Should we go tell Ms. Jenn we completed the exercise?”

He wants to say no so bad so that he could hold her one last time because he wasn’t sure they’d ever get the chance to do it again. But he doesn’t. 

“Sure let’s go.”

When class ended and everyone went their separate ways, both of them couldn’t help but think about each other for the rest of the day. There was definitely a shift in their relationship and neither knew how to cope with it.

***

The next few practices had been a little awkward for both of them.

Neither wanted to address the elephant in the room scared what might happen if they talk about it. 

They don’t fight during practices anymore. They occasionally would make a criticizing comment, but it wasn’t to demean the other like they usually did. It was more of a critique to make sure the other was on point.

Sometimes Ricky would still make a joke or tease her a little bit, but nothing too intense. He made a promise to himself to not get under her skin like he did a week ago. 

After soul bonding, Ricky had begun to take it more seriously and buckled down. He had practiced all his lines at home with the motions so he had it down by the end of the week. He knew they were supposed to be working on the duet in the next few days and didn’t want to disappoint Ms. Jenn ~~and Nini.~~

They finally get through the whole scene without any errors or fights for the first time and both of them get excited.

“We did it!” Nini beams and claps.

“I know! It only took us like two and a half weeks, but we got it down.”

“Should we start the duet? We’ve never actually practiced it together. I’ve been singing my parts at home, but it feels weird without Sebastian’s part.”

“Yeah I’ve only sang it twice, but I can try.”

She pulled out her phone and began playing the instrumental. 

When he starts singing, she can feel all the emotion he pours into it. She doesn’t think she’s heard him sing with so much passion before. His singing has always been good, but this was the next level. She felt like she had witnessed him unlock some sort of secret power he had within.

She sings her part when it comes and they harmonize perfectly. Ms. Jenn had been right when she said that their voices would match each others.

When the song comes to a close, they’re both left breathless. 

“You were really good.” 

“You’re not too bad yourself Sal-Robs.”

“I say we go over it maybe three more times. Then we can call it quits for the day.”

He raises a brow suggestively. “Do my ears deceive me? You never leave class early unless it’s in an angry rage.”

She puffs air from her nose. “Oh shut up. I just think we’ve covered a good enough amount of material to be fine for the day.”

“Yeah I think that we’ll be okay.”

“Cool we’re on the same page.” _Wow that sounds weird to say._ She thinks. 

They practice three more times, and they only seemed to have gotten better each time. Ms. Jenn passes by the room they were in and can overhear their singing. 

She can’t help but smile to herself when she hears how amazing they sound together.

***

It was only a month until finals, and Nini was amazed at how fast time had flown by.

The awkwardness had pretty much vanished between them, and they were now in a comfortable place. They weren’t friends necessarily, but they weren’t exactly enemies anymore either. She really didn’t know what to call their relationship at the moment.

After their normal practice, Nini being the perfectionist she is suggested that they practice after their classes are over. He hesitated at first, but soon complied when she kept nagging him.

She had been the first one there since her classes ended sooner than his. He finally strolls in 15 minutes later with his board in hand.

“Hey.” She greets.

He throws his things on the nearby couch. “Hey princess.”

A few weeks ago, she would’ve quickly told him to call her by her name, but now it had become pretty comfortable.

“I was thinking of going through the whole scene and song since we haven’t really done that all the way through without messing something up.”

“Uh sure why not? It’s about time we did anyways.”

They do the scene a few times; they’d start from the top if either messed up a line. They seem to have the song down more than anything since it’s both of their favorite part. They soon found out that they love the way their voices collided.

They end up practicing for hours not even noticing how the time went by due to how committed and engulfed they were into perfecting their performance. 

They finally decide to call it a night when they are both out of breath and because it was 7.

“That was a good practice. I think we’ll be fully ready by next week.” She says.

“With the way you worked me today, I can guarantee that we’ll be just fine.” 

She chuckles and picks up her belongings. “Yeah I might treat myself to a drink at a bar after this. Need to chill for the rest of the night.”

He looks at her a little taken aback. “Oh you drink?”

She folds her arms. “Yeah why do you sound so shocked by that?”

He shrugs before picking up his board. “I don’t know you just don’t deem me as the type to like hanging out and getting a drink.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He holds his hands up in surrender. “Nothing! It’s nothing. I just can’t see you doing that because of your personality.”

“Well for your information mister, I happen to love going to bars and chugging as many beers and shots I can handle every blue moon.” She makes a smug look, and he cant help but chuckle at how cute she looks.

“Oh really? I also happen to like destroying my liver on occasion.”

“Where do you usually drink at?”

“Echo, the best bar in town obviously.”

She gently slaps his arm. “No way! That’s my favorite bar in town.”

“No way.”

“Yeah way.”

“I mean I could like join you if you want. It’s not safe for girls to go to bars alone anyways.”

“What’re you my bodyguard? You think I’m some damsel in distress that can’t defend herself?”

He shakes his head frantically. “No! Of course not! I would never-“

“Ricky calm down I’m playing with you. Yeah you can join me.” 

He lets out a breath of relief as she giggled at his mini panic attack. “Damn I didn’t think you joked around too.”

She shrugs. “I guess I’m full of surprises.” She winks at him and walks out the door.

He finds himself grinning and following after her.

When they enter, they immediately notice how rowdy it was. It was a Friday night, so they weren’t exactly surprised to see a lot of people here, however it wasn’t usually this upbeat at this hour. They find a seat at a small table.

“What do you usually drink here?” He asks.

“I usually start with a round of shots of tequila or whiskey.”

“Hm okay that sounds pretty decent.”

“Wanna order a round, or do you have a weak ass tolerance?” She challenges. 

Ricky being his competitive self never backed down from a challenge. 

“Oh is Ms. Nini Salazar-Roberts challenging me to a drink off?”

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.”

“You know what? You’re on princess.”

He orders them ten shots each, 5 shots of Jack and 5 of Jose Cuervo. 

“Alright whoever finishes the most wins.” 

She smirks deviously. “That’s child’s play.”

“Go!” 

They both begin to down the shots trying to ignore the burning sensation in their throats. When Ricky begins to feel a little dizzy and his throat can’t take the burn any longer, he gives up. He slams down his ninth shot and groans.

He looks over at Nini noticed she’s unphased by any of it. She was glowing from the alcohol but still looked sober. He had looked down at her glasses and realized all of them had been empty. He looked at her with his mouth agape.

“Damn princess. Are you Thor or something?”

She laughs a little more bubbly than usual. “I told you I can handle my alcohol Bowen.”

“I gotta admit I’m impressed.” He bowed down to her, and she rolled her eyes light heartedly.

“You gonna finish that shot? Hate to see it go to waste.”

He pushes the glass over to her and watches as she downs it like water.

“I’d ask for a rematch, but I think if I did I’d end up in a body bag.”

“Yeah and we wouldn’t want that.”

“Awe how sweet; I didn’t realize you cared Sal-Robs.”

“Only because I’d have no partner for my final.” 

“Sureeeee okay princess.”

She tosses a lime at his chest and he chortles.

Suddenly, the sound of a mic being tapped on could be heard throughout the small bar causing them and a few others attention.

A man on the small stage at the front waved at the audience. “Hello everyone. I know many of you have been waiting and it’s finally time for karaoke night!”

The bar began to cheer and a few whistles could be heard. Ricky and Nini look at each other with matching lost faces. 

“I completely forgot today was karaoke night.” He says.

“Yeah me too. I don’t know how I forgot when I come here to do karaoke sometimes.”

“As our tradition always goes, we always start with picking who goes first and what they’re gonna sing before volunteers. So who’s gonna be the lucky person you guys want me to get up here?” The announcer asks.

The crowd starts to single out their friends and point at other strangers trying to avoid being the first people to go. Ricky and Nini both nervously sink down in their seats while covering their faces hoping not to be noticed.

“You guys aren’t slick! I see y’all trying to hide back there. We all know hiders are always the first ones that get picked. Come on up here couple with the curl headed man and lady with the bun.” The announcer said pointing at them.

Ricky and Nini looked like deer staring into headlights when they were singled out. The other people in the bar looked over at them and began clapping and trying to encourage them to get up there.

“Come on don’t be shy! We don’t bite.” The announcer jokes.

Nini glances over at Ricky and he gives her a gentle look. “Why not?” 

She sighs in defeat. “Ah fuck it, let’s do this Bowen.” 

As they approached the stage, they received pats on the backs and cheers. They stand shoulder to shoulder since there’s only one mic and wait for the announcer to tell them what song they’ll be singing.

Nini felt like they were Troy and Gabriella in the first movie the way they were forced up there.

“Alright the song you’ll be singing is You’re the One That I Want from Grease! Good luck!” 

Nini looks up at Ricky and finds he’s already looking down at her with a little dazed look in his eyes from the alcohol. 

When the music starts, the pair starts to naturally shift side to side to the beat. 

“I got chills, they're multiplying  
And I'm losing control  
'Cause the power you're supplying  
It's electrifying!”

The crowd cheers louder impressed with Ricky’s singing abilities. Nini can’t help but smile when she sees the dazed facial expression he makes. It’s amazing he still sounds amazing even when he’s tipsy.

“You better shape up, 'cause I need a man  
And my heart is set on you  
You better shape up, you better understand  
To my heart, I must be true  
Nothing left, nothing left for me to do”

Now they’re facing each other fully ignoring the crowd in front of them. They were getting into the song ~~and lost in each other’s eyes~~ as they sang the timeless duet.

“You're the one that I want (you are the one I want)  
Oo-oo-oo, honey  
The one that I want (you are the one I want)  
Oo-oo-oo, honey  
The one that I want (you are the one I want)  
Oo-oo-oo, the one I need (one I need)  
Oh, yes, indeed (yes indeed)”

As they sang the rest of the song, they couldn’t help but feel like they belonged on that stage. Something about it felt so natural.

When they finished, the crowd had gone nuts as they held hands and took a bow. 

“You were incredible Neens.” He whispers into her ear. 

She gently squeezes his hand. “So were you.”

They found their way back to their seats as the crowd continued to cheer for them. 

“I can’t believe I just did that despite literally not being able to even see straight at the moment.” He confesses.

“I am too! If we did that well with alcohol in our systems and on the spot, imagine how great our performance will be in 29 days.”

“Holy shit you’re right. I say we should drink to that.” He waves his arm to get the server’s attention.

She laughs as she pushes his arm down. “No more for you mister. Like you said, don’t want to end the night with you in a body bag.” 

They stay there for another hour just talking about whatever came to mind trying to sober up as much as possible before parting ways to their apartments that weren’t too far from either of them.

(Nini ends up having a suggestive dream about him that night and has to take a shower the following morning to cool off. She blamed it on the alcohol)

***

It was weird being friends with someone who you’ve hated for three years. 

That was the only word to call them at this point. Sure he still did the occasional annoying thing to get on her nerves, but nowadays it usually came off more flirtatious than it did rude.

It was only two and a half weeks til the final and everyone was trying to make sure they had every single thing perfect. For the few that we’re doing choreo, they had been working harder because they had more to remember.

Ricky had been watching two students named Seb and Carlos do choreo from across the stage to a number from Rent from the side lines. He was amazed at how the dance matched so well with the music and wondered if maybe he and Nini should’ve considered doing it too.

He feels a small hand rest on his shoulder. “Hey ready to practice?” He looks over to see Nini behind him. He nods and they walk to their dressing room.

She noticed pretty quickly that he had something on his mind. 

“What’s on your mind?” 

He waves her off. “Oh it’s nothing really. I was just thinking that maybe we should’ve done choreography that’s all.”

“What made you think that all of a sudden?”

“I’ve been watching others dance and I kinda regret not taking advantage of the extra credit. Also, choreo does make duets better especially if they’re from musicals.”

“Are you suggesting that we do choreo even though we’re in the crunch time?”

He made a childlike smile. “Would you say I’m crazy if I said I did?”

“Yes, matter of fact I’d call you a mad man for thinking that’s possible.”

“Nothing’s impossible Neens.”

“This isn’t some Disney movie where everything just magically works out for the main characters in the end Ricky.”

“Come on princess we can totally pull this off.”

“Ricky...”

“Nini please just think about it then get back to me. Promise me you’ll at least think about it.”

She sighs and rustles through her hair. “Fine. I’ll think about it and get back to you sometime today.”

He forms a big smile and hugs her tight lifting her a few centimeters off the ground.

“Alright, alright, alright, calm your tits Bowen. We still have work to do.”

He puts her down but doesn’t wipe the goofy look on his face.

“As you wish princess.”

She calls him later that night and caves into his idea. She has to cover her ears to stop them from ringing when he screams into the phone.

***

He invited her over to his apartment that Saturday so they can practice. He said his living room has a shit ton of open space even with the furniture.

He hears his doorbell ring and he jogs to it. When he opens it, he’s greeted by Nini dressed in a spaghetti strap and black sweats with two large smoothies in her hands. He smiles down at her.

“Are one of those mine by any chance or are you just a glutton who plans on downing two 20 oz smoothies?” 

“Wow, I buy you a smoothie and get called a glutton the minute I see you and I haven’t even walked in yet.”

He chuckles as he lets her in. She places the drinks on his counter and let her eyes wander the premises. “Nice place you got here, and you were right about that open space.”

“Yeah well I figured we could use a new scenery besides that damn dressing room.”

He grabs his tv remote and turns it to a YouTube tutorial for A Lovely Night. 

“Okay I looked at this thing a few times over the week and it’s doable, and these guys get pretty creative with it and I think we should too.”

“Yeah that’s fine. I’ll just follow their lead and we can add stuff as we go.” 

The choreo was harder than it looked on the screen especially Sebastian’s part since he tap dances on a bench. Ricky made a mental note to ask his roommate to give him some tips.

As they twist and turned around his living room, they start to find their own rhythm.

“Oh instead of the scene ending the with the phone ringing, we should end with you lifting me or maybe even dipping me. I feel like it’d be more appropriate.” She suggests.

“Yeah I actually really like that idea. I think dipping you is too basic, but I’ll do it as a back up if holding you up is a problem for some reason.”

“We should try it now to see how it looks.”

“Yeah okay.”

They both back up far enough for her to be able to jump on him.

“Okay I’m going to jump on you and then wrap my legs around your waist. Got it?”

“Yep crystal clear.”

“I swear to god if you drop me, I will end you.”

“I don’t doubt that princess.”

“Alright here I come.”

She runs up to his open arms and jumps onto him. He stumbles back a bit but catches himself. He holds her tight so she doesn’t fall while she rested her legs around his hips. They both smile when they realize they did it without hurting each other.

“What do you think? Because I’m liking it.”

“You only like it because you’re taller than me for once.”

“Shut up! That’s not why!”

“Or maybe it’s because you wanted to find an excuse to wrap your legs around me?” He raises his eyebrows suggestively and she playfully slaps his shoulder.

“You’re repulsive!”

“Whatever you say princess.”

“I’ll leave right now.” She begins to shimmy her way down, but he stops her.

“No, don’t leave me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Her words come off more romantic than they do playful, and they both notice it.

Their playful smiles became serious, and their eyes began wandering on the others lips. One of Nini’s hands are toying with his curls and the other has found its way to his cheek tracing some of the freckles he had gained from the summer sun.

When he couldn’t take the space between them, he began to close his eyes and lean in. She also found herself slowly inching forward waiting to taste him.

The sound of the front door opening breaks them apart. He quickly places her back to the ground, but doesn’t let go of her.

Big Red comes in and stops to stare at the scene in front of him. It was clear he had interrupted an intimate moment between the two.

“You’re home early.” Ricky’s face might’ve appeared calm, but it is quite the opposite.

“Yeah sorry I got off work an hour earlier. I could like totally leave if you guys need the privacy though. Like it’s no big deal.”

“No, no, no I’m not going to kick you out of your own home because I’m here. By the way, I’m Nini his partner for theater.” She waves at him, and he reciprocates. 

“Yeah I know. He talks about you all the- OW!”

Big Red rubbed his head after Ricky throws his teddy bear at his face.

“Dude! Stop talking!”

Nini snickers while Ricky blushes madly.

“Sorry my bad! I’ll just go to my room and leave you two be. It was nice to finally meet you Nini.”

When he enters his room, the two finally release each other. Surprisingly, it wasn’t awkward even though just a few minutes ago they would’ve definitely kissed.

“We should get back to work. Still a lot to do.” 

She nods, “Yep.”

They bust their asses until they’re both sweaty from all of the spins and jumping. They avoid doing the last bit to avoid almost kissing again ~~even though they both secretly wanted to.~~

By the time they decide to call it quits, it’s nighttime. He offers to order in Chinese food, and she accepts because who in the right mind would deny free food?

As they eat their food in comfortable silence on his couch, he can’t help but ponder on something she had said so long ago that still bothered him.

“I never hated you, you know.”

She stops eating and looks at him confused.

“What?”

“I never hated you. Back in biology when you blew up at me, you said that you don’t know why I hated you so much. I’ve never hated you one day in my life.”

She stares at him trying to think of something to say. “That’s good to hear.” She desperately wants to ask why he only teased her to no end back then, but decided to bite her tongue.

“I guess I never actually hated you either.”

He makes a crooked smile. “Cool.”

“Cool.”

They finish their meals in silence looking at the tv screen playing a rerun of Friends both not actually paying attention because their minds were occupied with other thoughts.

She ends up spending the night. She had passed out on the couch, and he picked her up bridal style and placed her in his bed while he slept on the couch.

***

All the students in their biology couldn’t help but whisper and stare at the pair.

They had been because when Ricky walked into the room, he sat next to Nini as if all of a sudden they were best pals.

Even the professor had been shocked that the pair was getting along for once.

That wasn’t the only class that they got attention in. The theater students noticed they haven’t fought in over a month, and it felt kind of unnatural since they were so used to the constant bickering between the two. Ms. Jenn on the other hand was thrilled that there were no more trivial disputes. 

“Hey Neens, after classes today wanna hit up this little tavern I found? It’s like hella cheap and it’s only a few blocks down from the school.”

“Only if you’ll let me pay for once.”

“Oh please we both know I won’t let you do that.”

“It was worth a shot.”

“Catch you later princess.” 

As he exits the room, Kourtney enters.

“Oh hey Kourt! What’s up?”

Kourtney raises her brow and folds her arms.

“So you and Ricky have been getting real close lately.”

“Yeah you could say that. You know, he’s actually kind of been great recently.”

“So like are you guys like friends now or maybe a little more? I’ve been dying to know for over a month now. You rarely talk about him with me.”

Nini blushes, but couldn’t stop herself from grinning at the thought of being a little more to Ricky. 

“It’s not like that. We’re just friends now. Matter of fact, he’s gonna take me out to dinner tonight.”

Kourtney smirks. “Oh is that so? Like a date.”

“A _friendly_ hang out. He happens to take me out quite a bit actually, and he always pays even though I insist to pay.”

“Wow that almost sounds exactly like a date.”

“Is there any possible way I can convince it’s not a date?”

“Probably not.”

“I had a feeling.” Nini collects all her things.

“Welp, I’ll catch you later Kourt. Gotta head to algebra in 10 minutes.” 

When Nini leaves, Kourtney pulls out her phone and begins texting Ashlyn.

_K: Yeah they’re totally into each other, but neither will admit it._

_A: Ha! I knew it. How much you wanna bet they’ll end up confessing by the end of the semester?_

_K: I give them til the day of the play._

_A: You’re so on._

***

“Dude what’s your deal with Nini?”

Ricky wasn’t expecting such a bold and random question in the middle of them playing  
Call of Duty.

“Um we’re just really good friends.”

Big Red scoffs. “Yeah sure. You guys looked really cozy a week ago when I walked in on what looked like was an almost kiss.”

“That was a little moment I admit, but we haven’t discussed it since.”

“I think you should. Something tells me she feels the same way you do.”

“What? How did you know I liked her?”

“Dude are you kidding me? You’d have to be blind not to notice you’ve been crushing on that girl since freshman year. I mean Jesus Christ you couldn’t go a full week without mentioning her at least once since you’ve met her.”

Ricky sinks into his seat slightly embarrassed that his feelings were so transparent. “Do you think she knows?”

Red shrugs. “Honestly, I don’t think either of you are aware of what’s right in front of you.”

“What do you think I should do?”

“Whatever feels right to you.”

***

The day that all of the theater students have been waiting for had finally arrived. Finals day.

The average college student would usually dread finals week, but theater kids always looked forward to showing off their talents in front of their peers.

Ricky and Nini were both a little restless in their seats as they awaited their turn. They were currently watching Kourtney and Ashlyn’s performance, and they were absolutely killing it up there. Nini payed attention to them as much as she could, but she couldn’t stop herself from fidgeting her hands do to nerves.

She feels a large and warm hand intertwine between hers, and she instantly recognized the now familiar touch. She made eye contact with her partner who had been giving her a gentle smile and a reassuring look, and she felt herself calm down.

As the two ladies finish their number, the audience gives them a well deserved round of applause. Ms. Jenn is clapping the loudest as always.

“Well done ladies! I knew you guys would do an amazing job! Up next, we have Nini and Ricky doing A Lovely Night from La La Land.”

Ricky squeezes her hand. “You ready?” 

She nods and forms a crooked smile. “Let’s do this.” They both stand up hand in hand as they walk to the stage. They both get in their starting positions. 

The dialogue part of the performance goes by in a jiffy, especially since both of them were speaking a little faster than they rehearsed in order to get to the song and dance portion since it was a 5 minute song. 

When the music starts, the lights dim down and the pair looks into each other’s eyes.

Ricky tap dances around her just as Big Red showed him while she eventually joins in. He spins her in circles as they harmonize their voices to the melody. Both of them had forgotten that others were watching them too wrapped into their song and dance. Neither miss a single beat or step.

The part both had been worried about finally came. The final jump. They had only rehearsed it once, which almost ended with them kissing. She gave him a concerned look debating on if they should do it. He gives her a faint nod and opens his arms for her. She takes a breath. This is it.

She runs across the stage and leaps into his welcoming arms. He catches her without stumbling and levels their heads so that they’re eye level. Her eyes meet his, and she notices he’s making the same look he made all those weeks ago. Suddenly, she feels like she’s back in his living room yearning for the touch of his lips.

She doesn’t even realize it when she slowly moved her lips towards his. She shuts her eyes and closes the distance between them. A series of gasps and cheers erupted, and she can hear Kourtney yelling “I called it!” in the background. 

At first, he didn’t kiss back due to shock, but soon enough he’s kissing her back with just as much enthusiasm. He grips onto her thighs pushing his fingers deeper while his other hand rubs up and down her back. She’s roaming her hand through his bushy hair licking at his lips.

Ms. Jenn whistles loudly causing the pair to unattach from each other. Both were still breathing hard from the make out.

“Oh my! What an alternate ending to this scene. I love it! As much as I’m thrilled about you guys finally admitting your feelings, we still have other finals!”

They both give a quick apology before leaving the stage. People gave them smiles and looks as they made their way back to their seats. Kourtney leans over to Nini.

“So will you finally admit something is going on between you two?”

Nini blushes and shoves her shoulder playfully. “Okay, so maybe something is going on between us.”

Kourtney turns over to Ashlyn. “Ha told ya Ash, you owe me spa day.”

“How about I treat you to a date instead?”

Kourtney giggles nervously. “Uh yeah sure.”

Ashlyn joins her hands with Kourtney’s and they both smile at each other.

“Will you finally admit you were crushing on Ash the whole time?” Nini teases.

Kourtney sticks her tongue out at her, and Nini light heartedly rolls her eyes. 

She feels Ricky squeeze her hand causing her to look at him. He nuzzles into her hair.

“Princess, we have a lot to talk about later.” 

“Yeah we do.”

She rest her head on his shoulder and he wraps his arm around her.

Right there in that moment, she knew that this is exactly where she wanted to be.

***

“I can’t believe I can finally call you mine.”

Nini grins and gives her boyfriend of one month a fleeting kiss on the lips. He grabs her waist and pulls her back for another kiss.

“I can’t believe it sometimes either.” She says in between the series of swift pecks. 

“It only took me three years to get you, but I finally did it.”

“And yet I’m still the one who ended up making the first move.”

He places his index on her lips. “Shh princess don’t ruin this for me.” 

She moves his finger and brings him down for another brief kiss. 

“I can’t wait to see how our relationship flourishes.” 

He rest his head into the crook of her neck placing a few kisses there. 

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For choosing me.”

She presses a kiss to his shoulder. ”I’ll always choose you.”

He held her closer to him and enjoyed the feeling of their hearts beating in sync.

Only she could give him this feeling of absolute euphoria. She was all he needed to get by.

***

_You're really lovely  
Underneath it all  
You want to love me  
Underneath it all _

**Author's Note:**

> Soul bonding part was inspired by @lottielotsof.


End file.
